From: The Guardian (Lagos)
By Tope Templer Olaiya
THE setting of the recently held public hearing on tobacco by the combined House of Representatives’ committees on Health and Justice, respectively, had all the setting of an intensely debated issue.
From farmers who have a strong interest in maintaining their livelihood to industry sector organisations such as Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to the tobacco producers such as British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) and the anti-tobacco coalition, it was a rich potpourri of stakeholders.
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According to him, smugglers obey no rules, do not pay taxes, and are under no obligation to adhere to health and safety criteria in the production of cigarettes. The issue of criminal gangs and terrorist groups now finding cigarette smuggling far more lucrative as opposed to the traditional goods such as drugs and arms brings up the spectre of Nigeria’s national security being further breached if the tobacco industry is unwittingly handed over to criminal groups.
